Wife of Fla. Deputy Denies Racist Post After Mall Brawl

The wife of a Lee County deputy says she was not the one who posted the message with racist language after video surfaced of a fight inside a Fort Myers mall this weekend.

(Published Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017)

Sheriff's officials in Lee County are investigating a social media post from the account of a lieutenant's wife containing racist language after video surfaced of a brawl inside a Fort Myers mall this weekend.

NBC affiliate WBBH-TV reported that Linda Deverso-Pakulis, the wife of Lt. Chip Pakulis, allegedly wrote on Facebook about the fight - calling those in the video "filthy n------" before adding "send them back to Africa".

Deverso-Pakulis later posted that her account was "compromised" and someone other than her published the comments.

"I am appalled about the comments that were made, neither I nor my family share these beliefs," she wrote before announcing she would delete her social media accounts.

LCSO officials says while they don't believe the wife of Lt. Pakulis was involved in posting the message, they will still conduct an internal investigation. A spokesperson did not say if Pakulis was one of those who responded to the fight.

The shocking video from inside Edison Mall shows a brawl erupting between a group of holiday shoppers as a toddler appears to be brought into the action, causing outrage on social media.

At one point during the video, a woman can be seen walking up with a baby in a stroller and kicking another woman on the ground in the face. The woman then leaves the baby off to the side as she runs off.

Police have not released any information regarding the brawl or any possible arrests.